Monday 18th December 2017

Lotus Exige Cup 430: Time For Coffee?

You've read about how much we love the latest Exige; now's your chance to hear it!

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Hopefully you will be up to speed now on how fond we are of the Exige Cup 430; it is, quite simply, one of the most exciting, immersive Lotus products ever made. Given the calibre of sports cars produced in Norfolk, that really is some achievement.

Due to various logistical issues, we were unable to film during our first drive of the Exige. Conveniently, however, Lotus has done what it did with the recent Evora and Elisemodels by providing a Hethel track video; helps that the driving is better than ours, too!

What's worth seeing? It's the grip and traction that's most startling, the car seemingly very composed even on a greasy test track. And the sound is fabulously wild too, the perfect pick-me-up for a Monday morning. And keep a look out for the ghost gearshift...

 

[HorneyMX5]

Lotus are just getting it so right at the moment. That has the looks, the performance and noise. Brilliant.

[Guvernator]

Brilliant video and the car looks fantastic!

One thing though, it sounds really good but it's VERY loud. Is that car actually allowed on many UK tracks with that noise level?

[kambites]

Doesn't it have switchable exhaust valves?

I know the Evora fell foul of being too loud for many tracks, but one would hope that with the more track-focused Exige they've solved it somehow.

[Maldini35]

Brilliant car.

I can’t help but feel Lotus are a sleeping giant.
They’ve made some sensational cars over the last couple of years despite going through some pretty tough times.
With Geely investment we could see Lotus finally realise it’s potential.
I can’t wait.

[AmosMoses]

Epic, looks so balanced on track.

[cib24]

So nice but it's such a damn shame that not even the Cup models are able to do (nearly) any track day in the UK at any UK circuit because the models are too loud. Every single model since the launch of the Evora 400 back in 2015 that carry the 3.5 supercharged V6 are too loud for the circuit, pumping out 110-112 dB static. Models affected:

Evora 400
Evora Sport 410
Evora GT430
Evora GT430 Sport

Exige Sport 350
Exige Sport 380
Exige Cup 380
Exige Cup 430

They sound great but it would have been nice if they had an optional exhaust that was under 105 dB static so that you could attend most UK tracks. Instead, owners that want to track the car need to buy a bespoke aftermarket exhaust system or drive across the pond to do a track day at the larger European tracks where noise limits are much less of an issue.

[dukeboy749r]

I'm getting a This video is restricted error message - pity, would love to have seen it

[suffolk009]

Phwoar.

People say you need a V8 to sound good.

The thing that I don't get at the moment is that the 350 costs just under £60k, the 430 just under £100k. So if you're a 350 owner and just want a power upgrade then you'll be looking at £40k plus any depreciation on your current car. That's a big ask. Obviously the price includes a bunch of fancy carbon and other lightweight doo-dads. But, why aren't Lotus offering the 430 in similar spec to 350 and letting you tick all the pricey carbon-fibre if you want it. It's gotta be costing them sales.

[Thorburn]

suffolk009 said:

Obviously the price includes a bunch of fancy carbon and other lightweight doo-dads. But, why aren't Lotus offering the 430 in similar spec to 350 and letting you tick all the pricey carbon-fibre if you want it. It's gotta be costing them sales.

I guess because they want people to go all-in if they want the extra power of the charge-cooled car. They've been pushing to get average prices up.

Wouldn't be surprised to see a 400 or 410 replacing the Sport 380 at some point.

[suffolk009]

Thorburn said:

I guess because they want people to go all-in if they want the extra power of the charge-cooled car. They've been pushing to get average prices up.

Wouldn't be surprised to see a 400 or 410 replacing the Sport 380 at some point.

Yeah, I completely agree. I just think it's bit short sighted. If I already had a 350 there's no way I'd drop £40k+ (in reality at least £50k) just to get a power upgrade. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of people willing to tick the carbon/lightweight boxes when speccing their Porsche/McLaren/Ferrari/whatever. Bundling it all in together doesn't make sense to me.

[Ares]

Looks/Sounds/Goes incredibly.

Looks very very quick...even in the wet.

[gofasterrosssco]

suffolk009 said:

Thorburn said:

I guess because they want people to go all-in if they want the extra power of the charge-cooled car. They've been pushing to get average prices up.

Wouldn't be surprised to see a 400 or 410 replacing the Sport 380 at some point.

Yeah, I completely agree. I just think it's bit short sighted. If I already had a 350 there's no way I'd drop £40k+ (in reality at least £50k) just to get a power upgrade. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of people willing to tick the carbon/lightweight boxes when speccing their Porsche/McLaren/Ferrari/whatever. Bundling it all in together doesn't make sense to me.

There's a lot more to it than just a power upgrade though - there car has numerous mechanical and exterior changes. Some of these are incremental granted, but the combined addition of many low-volume, vehicle specific parts probably increases the production cost significantly.

Whether these are justified at the end of the day, will be based on how many they sell, but there's probably people out there with the cash to buy a factory-developed version vs. modifying a lower spec model. I wish I was in the position to make that choice!

[Ares]

suffolk009 said:

Thorburn said:

I guess because they want people to go all-in if they want the extra power of the charge-cooled car. They've been pushing to get average prices up.

Wouldn't be surprised to see a 400 or 410 replacing the Sport 380 at some point.

Yeah, I completely agree. I just think it's bit short sighted. If I already had a 350 there's no way I'd drop £40k+ (in reality at least £50k) just to get a power upgrade. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of people willing to tick the carbon/lightweight boxes when speccing their Porsche/McLaren/Ferrari/whatever. Bundling it all in together doesn't make sense to me.

Isn't that the same with every performance car though? Would the 458 owner drop £XXk to get the 458 Speciale? Or the 488?

Ditto the various Lamborghinis, or even the M3/M3 CP/M3 CS/etc

[bosshog]

100K track focused car you can't take on track in the Uk. WTF.

[hondansx]

Hardly a big deal to get an exhaust made up. It's not like any Ferrari passes noise limits either!

Lotus are pressurised into making loud cars because everyone else does.

[SidewaysSi]

Can any Ferrari or Porsche GT car pass the noise test to get on track these days?

[cib24]

hondansx said:

Hardly a big deal to get an exhaust made up. It's not like any Ferrari passes noise limits either!

Lotus are pressurised into making loud cars because everyone else does.

I get this argument for the Sport models but the Cup and Race models should be track compliant for noise benefits.

[Bebee]

Want!

[996GT3_Matt]

Awesome car, and despite the number of special editions you have to give credit to Lotus for producing such an awesome road-track package.

That said, I fully agree with those who are frustrated by the lack of quiet exhaust option.

I imagine that the vast majority of owners will want to track their 380, 430 variant which kind of renders this a chocolate teapot.

Others will point to afternarket solutions, but all said and done a warranty compliant solution should be available from Lotus.

[kambites]

I might be wrong, but I doubt changing the exhaust would lead to many warranty claims being rejected; it's not like there's much down-stream of the exhaust to be damaged by it. I think they'd struggle to argue that changing the exhaust caused any sort of engine damage.

I fully agree that it should be compliant from the factory though. It's a truly idiotic oversight if it's not (although one which is hardly unique to Lotus).